320 Comments

1. Mark July 14, 2014 at 5:44 AM

   I’d save about $60 per month with two phones
2. Kyra July 14, 2014 at 6:41 AM

   I wouldn’t actually save any money because I’m already a customer, satisfied customer. Hoping to run for my son.
3. Jeff July 14, 2014 at 6:58 AM

   I’d save about 5 buck from the t-mobile no contract plan. I’d get more minutes, but slower data. Also, Android phones are great! II seems that it a common sentiment that smart phone = iphone for some people. There’s plenty of options out there!
4. Ashley July 14, 2014 at 6:59 AM

   I’d actually make $20-35 each month, as my employer reimburses for cell phones. I’d go from effectively paying $17/month to banking the extra.
   1. J. Money July 14, 2014 at 12:30 PM

      HAH! A perfect side hustle right there! :)
5. Jon @ Money Smart Guides July 14, 2014 at 7:00 AM

   I looked into changing my cell plan last month. I’m with AT&T and the rep told me that I could switch to a smaller plan and save about $10/month. Money is money so I pulled the trigger. When I got my bill, it was higher than before. It turns out on the lower plan, I lose my corporate discount. I asked the rep when I was changing if I could keep it and he said “of course!”. Anyways, after a lot of frustration with AT&T (I had grandfathered plans that are no longer offered) I finally got me old plan back (or so they say. Still waiting on the bill).

   Onto family plans, it’s nice that Republic doesn’t offer them. They sound good, but family plans really screw you over because if one person wants to switch carriers, the whole plan is affected. They don’t tell you that when they are trying to sell you the plan.

   As for me, I’m staying with AT&T until my contract is up and then I am seriously considering the likes of Republic. The monthly cost for my phone just isn’t justified. I would save about $30 a month.
   1. Hip K July 16, 2014 at 11:59 PM

      I’d save about 5 Hamiltons a month. More importantly it would give me an opportunity to start living in the 21st century. My phone is not smart. I would not even classify it as “dumb”. Let’s just call it “special”. I have a prepaid provider and I feel I may be on the wrong side of the “Trac”!
      1. Rich February 3, 2015 at 9:04 AM

         My wife and I were on the wrong “Trac” also. Finally switched over our phones to Republic Wireless Moto X’s on the $10 plan. Couldn’t be happier. Now have FOUR RW phones, unlimited talk and text, wifi data for $45 with taxes!
6. S L July 14, 2014 at 7:05 AM

   With the most expensive plan, I would be saving ~$100 a month for two phones. If I moved them down to the other, I beat you at $130 savings per month (yeah, I have crazy plan, with a carrier that has been doing amazingly right by me. My only worry would be possibly losing my phone number as it does not match the region in which I live. My phone number has outlived two marriages. *grin*
   1. Joel B July 14, 2014 at 9:47 PM

      The nice thing about Republic is you can easily port your existing number to their phones/plans – you do it after you get your phone and it takes about 24-hours (but can take up to 4 days …but old phone works until number is ported). So aside from saving my clan a load … we have everyting we had before but for a lot less.
7. Whiskey July 14, 2014 at 7:08 AM

   It would actually cost me. (The company I work for pays for mine). But my wife and kids use Straight Talk from Walmart. It would save them about $40 per month.
   Sprint service is very bad out here so most go with Verizon or AT&T. This service would have to be one of these.
   But Im up for the contest. They need new ones since their phones are about 4 years old.
8. Chung July 14, 2014 at 7:24 AM

   I will save $90+. I will definitely check it out!
9. Alicia @ Monster Piggy Bank July 14, 2014 at 7:29 AM

   I totally agree with you! For those who are looking for an ultra low cost option, this one is hard to beat. You will not find a more reliable and powerful phone at this price point. You will also be hard pressed to find a more affordable option for data, talk and text.
10. Lance Cothern July 14, 2014 at 7:31 AM

    My wife switched to Republic from her family’s family plan. She probably saved at least $50 a month rather than getting her own plan on Verizon. She got a Moto X and she likes it so far. It’s not quite the same level as a Samsung Galaxy phone, but it gets the job done.

    I’m still on a family plan so if I switched I’d only save $10 a month. As soon as some other circumstances work themselves out, I’ll probably switch too :)
11. Ben @ The Wealth Gospel July 14, 2014 at 7:47 AM

    Since I’ve already been rocking the $10/mo. plan with Republic Wireless for about 6 months now, I’m good :) BUT I’m still working on getting my wife to switch over. I think we’d save another $30/mo. for her since she probably isn’t going to be as hardcore as I am with the $10/mo. plan.
12. Joanne July 14, 2014 at 7:50 AM

    I have been happy with Republic for a long time. I would love to give phone to my mother to save her about $40 a month.
13. John @ Wise Dollar July 14, 2014 at 7:53 AM

    We’d be saving around $100/per month as well J! I’m so ready to leave those fools at Verizon and we have a few more months til we can make the switch. The challenge is going to be getting my wife unattached from her iPhone. She’s a big Apple fan and loves that she can get whatever she wants from any of her devices.
    1. J. Money July 14, 2014 at 12:33 PM

       Mine too – but I kept asking her “would you rather have the phone or $100 in cash every month?” Helps put things in perspective ;)

       Also – run the #’s for early cancellation/etc. If you save a ton you’ll probably break even within a matter of months.
14. Debbie July 14, 2014 at 7:56 AM

    Because we have 3 smartphones on our verizon plan….at about $300 per month, even with the most expensive plans, we’d save about $165 every month! That’s incredible!!
15. Brandy July 14, 2014 at 8:09 AM

    We would save about $80/month with 2 phones. I’m not sure how much it would be to break our contract, but both of our phones are pretty new (we bought them at Christmas last year). So, I’m guessing we could make up some of the difference by selling our current phones :)
16. Catina July 14, 2014 at 8:21 AM

    Wowzers! I’d save $150+ if my math is correct, I currently have 5 phones on a Sprint family plan and it is a rip off for sure.
    So excited to see this giveaway…RW has been on my radar for quite some time but I have been waiting to get off contract with Sprint which is right around the corner. Totally going to make the switch! Thanks for the chance to win!
    1. J. Money July 14, 2014 at 12:34 PM

       I hope you do! I waited wayyyyyyy too long like a dummy.
17. Stefanie @ The Broke and Beautiful Life July 14, 2014 at 8:24 AM

    This is definitely the hot, new thing on the blogosphere. My cell is on a family plan with my brothers and sisters, so I pay mama each month. If I ever get kicked off, I’ll absolutely be looking into this!
18. Jet July 14, 2014 at 8:24 AM

    We have 3 phones which we currently pay around $240/month for with Verizon. So I would guestimate we would save around $165/month with Republic Wireless. SMH #hangsheadinshame
19. Mrs. Money July 14, 2014 at 8:25 AM

    I’d save about $50 a month I’m guessing!
20. Rosemary July 14, 2014 at 8:28 AM

    My service has recently ended and was searching for the best deals. $25.00 a month would definitely be an improvement over almost all the other plans. No way do I want to sign another contract and pay for bad service due to being in a rural area. Now I need to win these two phones which would really save me some money. Thanks for the great information.
21. Natalie @ Financegirl July 14, 2014 at 8:30 AM

    Love the first image, J – it makes me laugh! And congrats on these HUGE savings. Please update us with your experience after you’ve used your new service and phone for a while. I’m interested to hear how the quality compares.
    1. J. Money July 15, 2014 at 3:33 PM

       I sure will :) At the very least I still save hundreds throughout, eh?
22. Salina July 14, 2014 at 8:32 AM

    I am currently on the family plan at Sprint but am switching to an individual plan as of next week! I would save about $40/month with Republic Wireless.
23. Alicia @ Financial Diffraction July 14, 2014 at 8:34 AM

    Man, I wish we had these in Canada… and that I wasn’t in a rural setting that doesn’t have great reception… For the two of us our average bill is $145/month plus the fact that we’re locked into a contract to pay down our $500 phone costs.

    I’m pretty envious. :)
24. Brian @ Debt Discipline July 14, 2014 at 8:47 AM

    I’d save about $40 for 2 phones. I wonder what their service is like?
25. Dan July 14, 2014 at 8:52 AM

    I’d save about $40 per month with two phones
26. Lazy Man and Money July 14, 2014 at 9:02 AM

    I still think Straight Talk is where its at.

    It’s $45/month unlimited everything (they slow you down if you use more than 3GB, but that’s a ton of data) and you can get that close to $40 if you pay a year in advance. The 4G network is on AT&T (or T-mobile in some areas) which is a ton better than Sprint’s (and I used to love Sprint).

    You can bring your own phone, even a beloved iPhone. Personally, I think the Nexus 5 is best value as more advanced than the Moto options above and costs $349 (a little more, but again, you are saving hundreds).

    I also like that it doesn’t have to do any weird wifi switching stuff. Sure there’s no $25 3G plan, so if you want to take it slow you can’t.
    1. J. Money July 15, 2014 at 3:34 PM

       I’ve heard good things about Straight Talk too.
27. Ryan July 14, 2014 at 9:02 AM

    I’d save around $80/mo from my wife’s and my Sprint plan. Factoring in phone costs, it’d take me 4 months to pay those off and then the rest is completely pocketed!
28. MrsPoP @ PlantingOurPennies July 14, 2014 at 9:13 AM

    We switched to Ting instead of republic about 6 months ago and highly recommend it for folks who aren’t super heavy users and who don’t live/work in wifi ubiquity. We have average use, and with Ting we got to keep using out iPhones, but still shave off over $110 from our old $160 verizon plan for 2 iPhones. Our highest bill so far has been $47 and we still have our 2 fancy iPhones!
    1. J. Money July 15, 2014 at 3:35 PM

       Nice! Never heard of?
29. Lindsee July 14, 2014 at 9:15 AM

    I would save almost $150 for three phones. I will definitely be checking when my contract ends!
30. Jen @ Jen Spends July 14, 2014 at 9:19 AM

    I would go for the $25 per month plan, which means I would save about -$16 per month because I am currently spending $100 per year on a prepaid plan (without data). Our expensive cell plan was one of the first things to go when we needed to cut back. BUT even though having a dumb phone has worked for me for several years now, I’m still planning to switch to Republic when my minutes run out — I don’t like being without data on my current setup. Now that my husband has a cell provided through work, I can justify paying a bit more for my own cell phone.
31. sanjay srikonda July 14, 2014 at 9:21 AM

    I looked at the plan/phones offered. A few things to note:

    “the phones are huge”, no really, they’re not. The motoX is actually pretty small. I have a Note 3. THAT is a big phone/tablet,

    I didn’t see anywhere if they offered insurance. What happens if you break/lose your phone do you have to buy a new device?
    1. sanjay srikonda July 14, 2014 at 9:23 AM

       answered my own question:

       Insurance

       We don’t offer insurance at this time, but that’s something we may offer in the future.

       That can get very expensive very fast.
       1. Kyle Salewski (@Sa_Les_Ski) July 14, 2014 at 2:05 PM

          That can get expensive, but I also don’t even know of any big carriers that will replace your phone for free without you having insurance through them anyways. SquareTrade is a pretty decent an affordable place to cover all of your electronics. Way cheaper than carrier insurance plans.
32. Melissa July 14, 2014 at 9:24 AM

    I would save about $55/month for 2 phones. Maybe more….
33. jp @cashsnail July 14, 2014 at 9:30 AM

    I would lose around 15$ a month :)
    In my far away country, unlimited call/text/data is 8$ a month (no contract, just pre-paid)

    But I recently downgraded to a 3$ monthly for 1200 sms, 1GB internet, unlimited call in network & 1h30 call
34. Laurie @wellkeptwallet July 14, 2014 at 9:30 AM

    We don’t own smartphones yet, but when we are ready to make the switch, we will likely go with Republic. Why wouldn’tycha? :-) Thanks for a great review, J$!
35. Cedes July 14, 2014 at 9:33 AM

    I’ve been thinking of switching to republic for a little while now and just haven’t pulled the trigger. My phone plan with AT&T is only $75 a month, but I don’t get unlimited text messages (which, ironically enough, I just went over my 1,000 message limit yesterday for this month) I have been grandfathered into unlimited data, but it’s been really slow lately (I think AT&T is trying to get me to sign up for a new plan!) and I hardly ever go over my talk minutes, but if I do, AT&T does have roll over.

    All in all, I guess what I’m trying to say is I could switch to republic’s $25/month plan and save myself $50 a month! Which is awesome to me! I’d have that new phone paid off in 3-6 months that way! (or, If I win the free phone then it’d just be money in the bank! Woohoo!!)
36. Brittany July 14, 2014 at 9:35 AM

    On just my phone, I would be saving $5/month with the $25/month plan (I currently have a “dumb phone”). If we both switched over, we would save $50/month with (2) $25/month plans (not just 1, but 2 dumb phones). Since he’s mostly home, he could probably even do the $10/month plan and save us another $15/month. I was just researching these options last month and the only reason I didn’t jump to it is the upfront cost on the phones. It would take almost 3 years to break-even if I did the $25 plan or 10 months if I did the $10 plan. It would take less on his.
37. Emily July 14, 2014 at 9:36 AM

    We’d save almost $80 a month for two phones! It’s so, so tempting to switch, even though we’re brand-new smartphone users (we were very slow to adopt, but jumped right in with iPhone 5s)
38. Shannon @ Financially Blonde July 14, 2014 at 9:36 AM

    Technically, you are only saving about $50 a month for the first year because you have to amortize the costs of the new phones for switching plans. Also, if you have a bunch of apps through i-Tunes and music from your Apple based products, those cannot work on other devices and you will have to factor in replacement costs. That being said, over time you should still save money over your traditional Verizon plan. We just recently worked with Verizon to get our plans about the same as they would be if we switched to something like this.
39. Iron Mike Sharpe July 14, 2014 at 9:40 AM

    I have an iPhone. There is a particular app I need to have (for my side hustle) which is an iPhone only app.

    I pay $35/month for iPhone service through Virgin Mobil’s Beyond Talk (I think) plan.

    I get 300 minutes a month (use less than half of it)
    unlimited text
    unlimited data*

    *I think you get 2.5 GB/month at 3G/4G speeds, after that usage, it throttles down to 2G speeds. But most of my high data usage is used over WiFi, so that doesn’t matter to me.
40. MaryAnn July 14, 2014 at 9:58 AM

    I’d save about $15 per month.
41. Deb July 14, 2014 at 10:00 AM

    Glad I checked out this blog this morning– we’d easily save $100 a month with Republic Wireless! Maybe more, since I could probably get away with the $10 plan. And, to encourage your “challenge everything” campaign, we just saved $800 a year on our car insurance bill by just calling and asking for whatever discounts I could get. Pretty psyched about that!
    1. J. Money July 15, 2014 at 3:37 PM

       I’m doing that this week!!! Haven’t checked on it for quite some time so I’m fairly confident there are some savings there :) Congrats on yours!
42. jestjack July 14, 2014 at 10:02 AM

    I would love the free phone….BUT I only spent $80 last year on cell phone service…But have considered upgrading to come into the 21st century. This could be just the “push” I need…Good article.
43. Tom July 14, 2014 at 10:12 AM

    I would save about $35/month on one phone. Planning to make the switch when my current contract is up!
44. Justin Crabtree July 14, 2014 at 10:12 AM

    I’ve been debating on making the jump to RW. It would save me an enormous amount with my 3 phones currently with Verizon. I pay around $225 per month…If I did the $25/month plans for the 3 phones I’m somewhere in the $75 making a whopping savings $150/month. Thanks for a great article and review!
45. Dude on a Mission July 14, 2014 at 10:12 AM

    One thing that I think would be useful to people looking to make a switch, but haven’t seen in this post or comments yet is average total cost. For example, we pay $153/mo for two iPhone 4 phones on AT&T. We got them brand new for $1 each (that’s sexy!) through AT&T. So, over our two year contract we will have paid $153 * 24 months = $3,672….Plus $2 for the phones for a grand total of $3,674 (decidedly un-sexy).

    If we switch to R.W., we will most likely get two Moto X phones and use the $25/month plans. This will satisfy the requirement of keeping our lifestyle level while hopefully saving lots o’ ca$h. R.W.’s website stated customers generally pay 17% of their bill in taxes. Now, we have $25/mo * 2 phones = $50/mo. Multiplied by 1.17 to add tax equals $58.50. BUT, we can’t forget to add the cost of those crazy phones of $299 each plus $10 shipping from R.W. That is, $299 + $299 +$10 = $608. Divide $608 by 24 months = $25.33 and add the monthly service of $58.50 to it for a grand monthly total of (rounded up) $84 per month.
    In conclusion, we now pay $153 per month with ATT, compared to $84 with RW. That would a seriously kick ass savings of $69/mo and $1,656 over the course of 2 years (typical contract). Sweet!

    Now I know smartypants people will say, but we there is no contract with RW! I get that, but we have to compare two options as closely as possible. Since ATT requires 2 year contracts, let’s compare two years of usage on RW. But wait! If you keep that Moto X beyond those two years you’re going to reduce your average monthly payment each month…I think that’s where the sweet spot is (as long as the phone holds up). And that’s why we’d spend the extra cash for the X since it won’t get outdated as quickly.

    That’s my extraneously long assessment. Thanks for reading if you got this far ;)
    1. J. Money July 15, 2014 at 3:39 PM

       haha… that’s a full blog post right there! :)
46. Becky @ RunFunDone July 14, 2014 at 10:14 AM

    I admit, I’m a skeptic. Isn’t Republic the one that sends you hate mail (and threatens to kick you out) if you use too much data?

    I also thought that these “alternative” cell phone plans typically don’t offer true roaming – in other words, if you aren’t near a Sprint tower (I believe that they all work off of Sprint towers), you don’t get any service at all. Is that accurate?

    Clearly, I’m not ready to make the switch. The financial side sounds great, but I worry about the logistics.
    1. J. Money July 15, 2014 at 3:41 PM

       I’d be pretty surprised if they sent hate mail, but you never know…. (I’ll find out soon! ;)).

       Regarding roaming – my understanding is if there’s no wifi, it goes to Sprint. if there’s no Sprint, it goes to Verizon. So you’ll always be covered (and apparently don’t even notice any switching while mid-call).
    2. Femme @ femmefrugality July 28, 2014 at 11:37 AM

       You’d have to be streaming movies all day using data only for them to say anything to you. I think it’s less hate mail and more, “Please help us keep costs low!”

       I’ve been in parts of the country on vacay with no Sprint and no WiFi and still had service…so I’m thinking that’s a myth.
47. Chris July 14, 2014 at 10:18 AM

    I would save $25 from my current Virgin Mobile plan
48. Chris July 14, 2014 at 10:28 AM

    We took the plunge a few months ago. Not only do we save about $120/month, but we went from two phones to four. So we have double the phones for about a quarter of the price. If I won the motoGs, I’d spread the RW love to my sister.
49. Amanda July 14, 2014 at 10:29 AM

    I wouldn’t be saving much by switching to Republic Wireless from Ting (a few dollars at most to go to the $10 plan) but with Republic Wireless I wouldn’t have to worry about how much I’m using the phone to call people. Interesting service :)
50. Done by Forty July 14, 2014 at 10:29 AM

    I work from home, so the pay-as-you-go plan with other MNVO’s work better for us (we’re wit PTel). Really, I do most of my calling/texting right through my computer and a wireless headset. But if we used our phones out and about more often, we might have looked harder at Republic Wireless. I think for someone who really wants/needs unlimited cell phone calling/data/text, RP is the way to go.
    1. J. Money July 15, 2014 at 3:42 PM

       That reminds me of when the internet first came out and people were making calls on it :) Which thereby tied up the phone lines since we were all on AOL dial-up! Hah!
51. zut July 14, 2014 at 10:31 AM

    Virgin Mobile: iPhone 5….$45 plan no contract – $5 by paying with cc + $3 taxes = $43/mo. Approximately $10/mo for the phone itself over 2 years. Sprint just upgraded the Denver area with LTE so that’s nice.

    I had an android phone about 1 year ago…the problem was I could never update the operating system. The only way to update previously was to jail break the phone. Hopefully they’ve fixed that. My experience with android was pretty awful.

    Also I’m looking forward to your “Challenge Insurance” post. I’ll be doing this as well.
52. Anne July 14, 2014 at 10:31 AM

    Kund of wishing I had considered switching sooner. I just renewed my contract with Verizon in March so I’ve got quite a ways to go before I can switch for free. But if I did I’d be saving somewhere around $100 a month.
    1. Michelle July 14, 2014 at 11:01 AM

       Anne, if you switched now you would have to pay a cancellation fee, however you would recover that in less than three months. In the end, over the two year contract time, you would still end up saving a thousand or more depending on your current plan, and whatever you would go with through Republic. AND if you win the phone, that would almost take care of your fee to break your contact. No matter how you look at it, you would come out a winner!
53. Kyle Salewski (@Sa_Les_Ski) July 14, 2014 at 10:36 AM

    Good article. I set up family with Republic and it works well; I also have some friends on it and they enjoy it. I would clearly note though that the $5 plan NEEDS wifi to do anything. Consider it a home phone or an MP3 player since it can’t do much away from home, unless you camp out in a Starbucks daily (not that far fetched). Same goes for the $10 plan if you want any data. I set up my dad with the $10 plan bc all he needs is talk/text and it works great.

    I would recommend the Moto X also. While J. speaks a lot about how this phone ‘just gets by’ and can do ‘pretty much everything the iPhone could’ and the main reason to switch is the money, I would definitely say that the reason to switch would be money + awesome phone features. The Moto X has an amazing battery, NFC for tap-to-pay purchases, plus touchless control. This means you can wake up in bed and say “Ok Google, what’s the weather?” and your phone will just talk back to you with the answer without you even touching it or waking it up. I am pretty much blind without my glasses so my favorite to use when I wake up is just “Ok Google, what time is it?”. But the possibilities are endless. Use it to set reminders for when you go to work, or remind you to grab milk the next time you are at the store, text someone, get directions, check sports scores, stocks, etc.

    All in all Republic is a great service bundled with an AWESOME phone. I recommend it.
    1. J. Money July 15, 2014 at 3:46 PM

       Thanks man! GREAT comments and info you’re sharing too – really really appreciate you doing so. I used the voice command this morning to check on whether – it was awesome!!! (And then I asked what Apple stock was just for $hits and giggles, and it brought it up on the screen and then told me out loud :) It IS cool!)
54. Paul July 14, 2014 at 10:37 AM

    My wife and I switched in April (from Verizon) and are seeing about the same savings as you ($100/month). We opted for the Moto G with 16GB of memory. My wife had memory issues with her previous phone that only had 8GB, so we opted for the 16GB. We decided against the Moto X because neither of us really needs the 4G data speed and Sprint does not offer 4G service in our area anyways. By the end of August, our phones will have been paid off by the $100/month savings and we’ll be using that extra money to pay off debt!
55. Ange July 14, 2014 at 10:40 AM

    I currently am still in the dumb-phone club but would love the convenience of having a smart phone for data on the go. Switching to republic vs getting up to a basic smartphone w/ data plan on my current plan would save $40 & help me switch off from current family plan (which I repay my parents for) & one step closer to FI from the parents now that I’m out of college
    1. Dan July 14, 2014 at 11:40 PM

       Check out Page+ (pagepluscellular.com/plans)

       $$$ Minutes Text/MMS* Data
       $12.00 250 250 10 MB

       $29.95 1200 3000 500 MB

       $39.95 Unlimited Unlimited 1 GB

       $55.00 Unlimited Unlimited 3 GB

       $69.95 Unlimited Unlimited 5 GB
56. Glen July 14, 2014 at 10:40 AM

    I had an iPhone with AT&T that my worked paid for everything on. In the midst of a job change that would only reimburse a certain amount each month I decided to switch to Republic.

    I was really excited about the switch. The phone was large, but I thought the camera quality and display made that all worth it.

    Unfortunately after using iOS for the last 8 years, the switch to the Android OS was miserable for me. Not a knock against Republic, but it just didn’t work for me. The other main issue was that Android messaging interfaces horribly with iMessage. I missed a large number of text messages and specifically group text messages. After about 2 weeks I decided Republic Wireless just wasn’t going to work for me. I have to say though the process of returning the phone and getting my FULL refund was absolutely seamless. The customer service was unreal. In the end though it just wasn’t right for me.
    1. J. Money July 15, 2014 at 3:47 PM

       Thanks for sharing man! Sorry it didn’t work out for you – this is solid info to know though.
57. Brent Pittman July 14, 2014 at 10:47 AM

    We switched in Jan and also saving $100ish a month for our two moto X. I can say my i-phone loving wife now digs her Android phone that easily integrates with Google products. She loves that extra cash!
58. Joel July 14, 2014 at 10:48 AM

    By switching over, we would be saving about $110 a month for 2 lines!! =) I’ve been contemplating the switch for a bit now so this could def encompass things!
59. Stacey July 14, 2014 at 10:51 AM

    We would save over 50 dollars each month.
60. Harris July 14, 2014 at 10:52 AM

    $30 precisely. Hope you can make it happen.
61. Michelle July 14, 2014 at 10:53 AM

    So I figured we would save almost $140 per month. And going a few steps further, taking the cost of the phones into consideration, I figured out that we would save almost $3100 over the life of a normal two year contract with Verizon. Bye, bye Verizon. Hello Republic Wireless!
62. Lori July 14, 2014 at 10:54 AM

    I switched from Virgin Mobile and save $15 month. That means in 10 months, my Moto G will be paid for with my savings, plus I get unlimited minutes which I didn’t have before, plus I can acces the internet anytime I want. With Virgin Mobile I had a hard time with that a lot and would have to call home to ask my son to do things for me such as checking in for flights or looking up infor. 3 of my children have switched to RW and love them. One has the $25 plan and two have the $5 plan and use Freedom Pop for data. They have the Moto X and love them. Another nice feature is if you give someone your referral link, you get a $20 credit and so do they. One daughter got one whole year free by referring people. I have two children who want to switch, but don’t want to pay for a new phone upfront. If I won, I could give the phones to them.

    My daughter’s friend switched from an Iphone and sent her a text the first night and said he was trying out the phone and would let her know how he liked it. The next morning she woke to a text from his saying he loved his Moto X. He is saving over $100 a month.
63. Emily July 14, 2014 at 10:56 AM

    I’d save about $5-15 per month depending on the plan, but more importantly, I’d be 100% financially independent! Not FI/early retirement/stashes of cash free, but my phone bill is the last one I pay that’s attached to my parent’s account. I would LOVE to be completely on my own!
    1. J. Money July 15, 2014 at 3:48 PM

       WOO!!!!! That’s SEXY ALL AROUND!!! :)
64. Noonan July 14, 2014 at 11:05 AM

    I could save $120 if i went with the cheapest wifi only plan, which i would be inclined to do. Great detailed review J$!
65. Megan J July 14, 2014 at 11:11 AM

    We switched to Republic about 2 years ago when my husband was able to be a beta tester. We’ve never had any problems at all, but we still have the first phones that were available. Annnd I would KILL for a new phone ;) So hopefully I win :)
66. Emmalincoln.com July 14, 2014 at 11:20 AM

    I have my phone paid for by my employer, but my significant other would save around $75 a month by switching so I’m forwarding this article right now!
67. EL July 14, 2014 at 11:26 AM

    I would be saving about 55 a month if I made the switch on a 2 family cell phone plan. I’d go with the 40 a month plan, I wonder can folks use already android enabled phones like Samsungs or not?
    1. J. Money July 15, 2014 at 3:50 PM

       I don’t think so cuz it uses special technology for the wifi calling stuff, but I could be wrong… could prob use older R.W. android phones though? before these two newer ones came out maybe?
68. Leland July 14, 2014 at 11:31 AM

    This is rad! I’d save almost $60 a month on my monthly bill. I’ve been hanging on to an iPhone for three years and clinging to my grandfathered-in unlimited data on Verizon… but I never use more than 3GB anyway, so it’s not like I need to pay for unlimited data that I’m not using. I’ll wait a week to see if I win, but thanks to your research, it looks like Republic will be my next cell service provider. You rock, J$!
    1. J. Money July 15, 2014 at 3:50 PM

       Good! our iPhones are grandfathered in too, but screw it… I just want my money back :)
69. Naoko July 14, 2014 at 11:36 AM

    I’m currently on an AT&T plan with a student discount, so switching over would save me $50/month. I like the iPhone’s camera and user interface compared to most Android phones, but the reviews on the Moto X + major savings + knowing that I can take another fiscally savvy step towards financial freedom make the move worthwhile.
70. Chantel July 14, 2014 at 11:38 AM

    Omg you’ve tempted me. So much. I’ll definitely take a look. I thought I was doing amazingly well with MetroPCS’s unlimited minutes and texts. I don’t have a smart phone..never have..because of $$$! But, if I can spend that same $25/mo and get UNLIMITED DATA, that’s just awesome! I wouldn’t save anything…unless I decided to try the $10/mo plan, which seems very doable! Especially since I don’t have anything to compare it to speed-wise :-) If that’s the case, I’d save $15/mo, or $180/year, which definitely adds up! :-D Thanks for this post! Very informative!
71. connieK July 14, 2014 at 11:45 AM

    Guess that like you, J$, I’d save $100/mo by making the switch from VZW to RW (currently on same VZW plan sounds like you HAD; $160/mo for two smartphones). And now that I’ve read this here writeup, I anticipate making the switch in spring 2015 once the hot smart husband is up from (his portion of) our Verizon contract. I mean if this plan is J$ Tried and Tested, that means I’ve gotta be in!!! Good work J$ and continued thx!
72. Megan July 14, 2014 at 11:56 AM

    I would save $60/month for two phones. But if they use the Verizon network here I’d actually be able to place a call.
73. Jeff July 14, 2014 at 12:01 PM

    In true baller style, I switched last fall (november-ish, right when the motoX came out). I’ve been saving > 110 per month, and went with the 2 /25 plan for my wife & I. I’d give the motoG to my mom if I won it, because she needs to kick Verizon to the curb.
    1. J. Money July 15, 2014 at 3:52 PM

       You ARE a baller. Beat me to everything financial :)
74. Raquel@Practical Cents July 14, 2014 at 12:07 PM

    Hey J, I’m so glad you decided to make the switch. I said, “See Ya”, to Verizon at the beginning of the year. I’m saving $155/month with my hubby’s phone on Republic Wireless and my iphone on Page Plus Cellular. It’s a no brainer really though I was a little worried at first regarding quality of service. I have to say it’s been great so far and have no regrets.
75. Lea July 14, 2014 at 12:09 PM

    I would save $120 a month
76. judy July 14, 2014 at 12:15 PM

    Interesting as I just went to AT&T to see if switching from Sprint to AT&T would save me any money…. my husband has AT&T for just him and I have Sprint for myself and my son.

    If my son and I switched to RW we would save $100.00 per month on the $40.00 plan or $130.00 on the $25.00 plan.

    If I, my son and husband switched to RW we would save about $160.00 per month on the $40.00 plan or $205 per month on the $25.00 plan! WOW!
77. Brit July 14, 2014 at 12:21 PM

    About $60 per month. I can’t even use my phone services at home.
78. Kristen July 14, 2014 at 12:32 PM

    Don’t be scared of Google – it is so helpful having all your info synced across all devices. And yes, there’s a setting for that. I heart Google. :) Congrats on the change!
79. Not Quite Sexy Darrell July 14, 2014 at 12:36 PM

    My wife is under contract until Sept 2015, and even with a ETF of $240, I’ll be saving money fast! I factored in the $149 phones with a $25 plan and a $15 phone and we’ll break even by Feb and save $1,000 a year after that. I didn’t factor in buying new phones every 2 or 3 years.

    Like you, we’re iPhone users. Our big thing is running entertainment at house. We use our iPhones like remotes and airplay to speakers, receivers, AppleTV’s…so at first we thought (it’ll be say to lose that). Then, more brain cells kicked in and I realized…I’ll still get to do that! I can just use our iPhones as wifi enabled controllers. It’ll be a good move for us, so we’re definitely going to do it!
80. Nick Loper July 14, 2014 at 12:43 PM

    Republic is legit, but we ended up going with Ting instead because of the iPhone support. Instead of flat-rate plans, they charge based on usage — but in 6 months our most expensive bill was still less than half what our average Verizon bill was.

    The service is decidedly worse than Verizon, but we’ll end up saving $800-900 this year (and hopefully every year after that), so pretty much worth it!

    Because we were able to get used Ting-eligible iPhones for just slightly more than we sold our old Verizon iPhones for (sold on Swappa.com), the start-up costs were really low.

    Plus the pay-per-usage bit has us using our phones less when out in public away from WiFi, which is probably a nice side benefit.
81. Donna July 14, 2014 at 12:48 PM

    I would save $5 per month. I’ve been wanting to try out Republic Wireless.
82. Mike July 14, 2014 at 1:06 PM

    I saved 16% on my cell phone plan doing this without switching phones or habitual changes with my smart phone use.

    What a bunch of former colleagues and I did was setup a 10 person mobile share plan with myself as the head of house hold(I’m the one that pays the actual bill).

    Every month, everyone on the plan send me money electronically and I pay the bill. There’s some advantages besides the cost savings. One of the biggest is you can move upgrades to another person within the plan so if one person doesn’t upgrade their phone after their contract is up, another person can essentially upgrade their phone every year. The contract for a 2-year plan is for that line, in other words, you’re not locked into the 10 person mobile share plan for 2-years at a time. Anyone can leave any time, but they still have to stay with AT&T until their contract is up.

    I’ve been doing this for the past several months and so far it’s been great, everyone is mutually sharing the cost savings while maintaining their habitual use with their smart phones.
    1. J. Money July 15, 2014 at 3:54 PM

       HAH! You are hardcore, sir! Always thinking over there.
83. Kelly July 14, 2014 at 1:13 PM

    Looking forward to making the switch. We’d be saving about $60 a month on the 3G plan…still trying to decide if we can deal with 3G only. Fortunately, it’s easy to switch on RW. :)
84. Derek Olsen July 14, 2014 at 1:21 PM

    I would save one hundred and forty-three sexy dollars.
85. Rick July 14, 2014 at 1:26 PM

    At least $130/mo but that’s not counting the time/fustration (time=$$) of dealing with the non-customer service, service I get from “V”.
86. Sarah R. July 14, 2014 at 1:36 PM

    I’d save about $50 a month (before taxes, maybe $40 after?), however, it would take me about 12 months for the savings to ‘pay back’ the cost of the Moto X phone. Not sure I’d switch right now. If I went for the G, it would only take about 6 months for the savings to pay back the cost of the phones. Of course if I got the phones for FREE, I’d switch in a heart beat!
87. Will July 14, 2014 at 1:52 PM

    One way Republic Wireless saves you even more money is there’s a limited selection of phones. It saves so much time/money not having to scroll through page after page of possible phone selections. Too many choices is a bad thing!
88. Joshua G July 14, 2014 at 2:05 PM

    4 phones costing a total of $240 on VZW….so $140 a month…plus we can sell those darn iPhones for $4-600 each…..so theoretically we could save a lot!
89. Kyle Salewski (@Sa_Les_Ski) July 14, 2014 at 2:08 PM

    Also, you can pickup used Moto X devices (The Republic Wireless model that is required) on eBay sometimes for cheap if you want to save even more money! http://goo.gl/PMxVh7
90. Ryan @ Impersonal Finance July 14, 2014 at 2:11 PM

    Not bad at all man. I’m lucky enough to only have to contribute a few bucks a month to be on a family plan, but the second that gravy train ends I’m jumping on the RW bandwagon.
91. Jimbo July 14, 2014 at 2:18 PM

    Recently switched to tmobile. Paying 90 a month for two phones (was paying 147 for Verizon). Was still locked into a contract so I traded in two old flip phones, kept our iPhones, and then bought two tmobile flip phones (70$each), and now they are paying the early termination fee. Don’t use the flip phones we bought and tried to resell them but they are so bad there is no market. Tmobile service in our area is awesome, but you have to check their coverage map because some parts of the country are not covered well
92. Samantha July 14, 2014 at 2:35 PM

    Oh J$, how desperately I want this new phone.

    I switched to Republic back in October and am using the Defy phone. DH is still using his $12/month tracphone. Both of us could use an upgrade and if won this, I would give him my Defy and keep the Moto G for myself! :)

    Anyway, over the past 6 months, I have saved $144 – but that is not including the fact that my previous phone had ZERO data and now I have unlimited data! HUGE BONUS.
93. Brentt July 14, 2014 at 2:40 PM

    We’re with Ting right now, so we actually would spend more money per month. However, we definitely limit ourselves to keep our cellular bill down, so going unlimited would be interesting for sure.
94. MomCents July 14, 2014 at 2:45 PM

    That’s awesome and cheaper than my current plan with Straight talk at $50/month for Unlimited everything.

    1. This is why I wanted to start my own VoIP company…the passive income opportunities is ridiculous. I am a VoIP administrator by profession and have set up an IP PBX in my house and chatted over Wi-Fi for fun (geek moment). I didn’t go as far as to rent the SIP trunk so I could connect to the rest of the world, but it is a viable business model to compete with the big players like Vonage.

    2. Google already knows all there is to know about me…in fact, my current phone is the Google Nexus 4, and hubby just got the Google Nexus 5…I’m sure they are tracking this comment.

    3. Do you know if you can use any unlocked phone or do you HAVE to use one of their 2? I’m not talking about jail breaking (not my style)…but GSM-compatible phones that are legitimately unlocked?

    I could do $25 a month! I thought I was saving at $50/mo
    1. Mom @ Three is Plenty July 14, 2014 at 3:28 PM

       The Sprint network doesn’t use GSM, it uses it’s own phones (CDMA), so you might be able to use an unlocked Sprint (maybe Verizon) phone, but not a GSM one.
    2. J. Money July 15, 2014 at 3:56 PM

       1) I think you need a phone from RW that has the wifi technology for calling stuff on it, but I could be wrong….

       2) GREAT IDEA FOR PASSIVE INCOME!!! I’m sure as the years go on there will be more and more ways to use it too so get started now! :)
    3. Sally July 18, 2014 at 1:39 PM

       You definitely need a RW enabled phone. They are rigged/programmed to work on the wifi handover, and other Moto Xs haven’t been. They are great though! I have a lake home that has no good cell service around but with my wifi and RW Moto X I’m able to do it all. Needless to say, our neighbors just bought one and I’m sure more will do the same.
95. KR July 14, 2014 at 2:56 PM

    I would save about $100/month! I’m skeptical of the Sprint network, which sucked way more than was tolerable when we tried to change to virgin mobile last year . . . but if it jumps to verizon as needed, that could work!
96. David Roberts July 14, 2014 at 2:57 PM

    We signed up Republic wireless last November and it saves us about $40 a month. We love it. Unfortunately my wife dropped her moto x last week and busted her screen. Winning this would save us the $150 for a new phone!
97. Lenoir July 14, 2014 at 3:11 PM

    I am a BIG fan of Republic Wireless as a current customer. They offer reliable service at affordable prices. I have the Moto X on their $10 month plan. You get access to all of Sprints network and roaming partners. Roaming is free. The handover from WiFi to cellular calling is seamless. I also like being able to change my service plan twice per month whenever I am traveling. I will upgrade to the $25 plan and then switch back to the $10 plan after I get home. I pay for only what I need when I need it.

    I’m glad J. Money joined Republic Wireless and hope more folks with enjoy similar saving results.
98. Alma July 14, 2014 at 3:16 PM

    I’d save around $60 on this plan, so it’s something I’m interested in.
99. Kipp July 14, 2014 at 3:17 PM

    Sprint network phones don’t really work for me at my current work location so I am just rocking an AT&T prepaid phone. Getting the $10/mo plan would save me $15/mo over my current pre-paid plan, but when my wife and I retire we will actually have to pay for her phone so I won’t realize much savings :).
100. Syed July 14, 2014 at 3:23 PM

     I’ve been thinking about the switch to RW for a few months since my current contract will be up soon. Looks like I would save about $75/month by switching. Not a huge amount but like you mentioned, that’s $75 saved every month forever.
101. Mom @ Three is Plenty July 14, 2014 at 3:26 PM

     The difference between the iOS and Android is too pronounced for me – we have an iPad for adults and a Samsung galaxy tablet for the kiddo, and every time I try to use the galaxy tab, I get too frustrated. Not interested in switching over my phone. I have however lowered my bill via AT&T (by almost $100) just by looking at our usage and what we really need (or don’t need).
102. Jessica July 14, 2014 at 3:33 PM

     I’d save $30 per month.
103. Cash Cow Couple July 14, 2014 at 3:39 PM

     We’re huge fans of Republic Wireless!
104. Teresa July 14, 2014 at 3:42 PM

     I would probably save approximately $100 but it’s going to take me some time in convincing my husband who always likes to have the latest and greatest phone. He used to be steadfast but I could tell I’m chipping away at it. I’ve got to nag slow and steady ;-)
105. Randolph July 14, 2014 at 4:01 PM

     Made the switch about a week ago and I’m lovein it! Saving around $10/month with my previous prepaid plan and now it is even better with RW because it’s unlimited, and the WiFi calling :)
106. Adam J Bourque July 14, 2014 at 4:06 PM

     I would save $75 alone just on my line by switching to RW!
107. Georgia July 14, 2014 at 4:11 PM

     I won’t be saving cos I’m on prepaid right now….but it’ll be awesome to have a smartphone.
108. Mortgage Free Mike July 14, 2014 at 4:21 PM

     I made the switch in January and wrote a similar review on my blog. I think I saved about $85 per month.

     I love the phone.. I did laugh at one of your points, though. It is heavily integrated with Google. Sometimes I get phone alerts for sports scores or weather– from things that I Googled on my desktop PC.

     As far as the service, I’ve experienced only a few dropped calls. I don’t miss my iPhone, which I also gave up. People will ask about my phone and kinda make fun of me– because I don’t have an iPhone– but my phone does all the stuff theirs does– except FaceTime. I don’t regret it one bit.

     Definitely something to check out if you’re trying to save a few bucks.
     1. J. Money July 15, 2014 at 3:58 PM

        Spoilers! ACK!!! I believe it!!
109. Chelsea July 14, 2014 at 4:52 PM

     I would probably only save about $10 because right now I don’t have data but I have been thinking about getting a smart phone and these plans seem like a really good deal!
110. Julie July 14, 2014 at 4:58 PM

     I’ve been on the fence for several months about switching…I’m already on Sprint so why pay more for the same crappy service? Well, there is that pesky fact that I have 15 months left on my contract. Hate the buy-out!

     Once I’ve recouped the cost of the new phone and $150 buy-out, I’d save $30-35/month.
111. Jim July 14, 2014 at 5:01 PM

     Actually will lose money. We gave up our phones to buy off debt. But now we are very close to being debt free.
     1. J. Money July 15, 2014 at 3:58 PM

        Damn, that is impressive!
112. Leonard July 14, 2014 at 5:05 PM

     I would save about $150 per month on 4 phones. I will definitely be checking out Republic.
113. Jordan July 14, 2014 at 5:22 PM

     For my wife and I, we would save $80-110, depending on 3G vs. 4G. I could probably sacrifice a “G” to save some G’s!

     I am highly interested in this service, just need to get my wife on board.

     Thanks for the review, J. Money!
114. daizy July 14, 2014 at 6:11 PM

     I joined in February. Saves me $40 a month and I didn’t have data access before so now I get to be one of the cool kids with wifi access. In October, I will have paid off the phone with my savings as long as I don’t drop it in the toilet or something.
115. Michelle July 14, 2014 at 6:17 PM

     I had to LOL at the “umlimited sexting.” HAHAHA :)
116. Kim July 14, 2014 at 6:24 PM

     I won’t really save money because I spend $25 month on my plan, but I don’t get any data. I would love to be able to have data.
117. Bob White July 14, 2014 at 6:47 PM

     “How much would you save by switching to Republic Wireless?”

     I’d save about $105/month. Plus, I would get better reception by using wi-fi in the house and at work.
118. christina h. July 14, 2014 at 7:06 PM

     My husband and I switched last summer from a grandfathered Sprint plan that offered 550 minutes every month and the total was $85 (with my mom on it as well. No data, no text, and my phone and my mother’s didn’t take pictured. So we spend $24.49/month each and my mom pays $11.61/month. So $60/month and we now get data, texting, and can take photos, AND save $25/month. It’s brilliant, really. My mom has one of the REpublic older crappy phones that drops calls, so if I win she’ll get a nice upgrade :)
119. Steve July 14, 2014 at 7:53 PM

     I already use Republic Wireless and love the savings; $50 per month. My wife is waiting for her Verizon contract to run out – when it does we’ll save another $50 per month.
120. Jenni July 14, 2014 at 8:02 PM

     We’d save at least $120/month for the four of us switching from our non-smartphones to the $10 plan. But we also won’t be dealing with the issue of buying iPods anymore, so I think the cost of the Moto G is well worth it. My farmer husband would like a smartphone to check radar, commodities prices, etc. while he is out in the field, so we may go with the $25 plan for him. So we would be saving money even going from dumbphone to smartphone, regardless of plan, but to save money PLUS get more? I’ll take that, thanks!
121. Chris July 14, 2014 at 8:09 PM

     I pay $17 a month on my prepaid phone so would save $12 a month but only AFTER paying for the phone, so that would take a while to break even.
122. Aimee July 14, 2014 at 8:10 PM

     I have a dumb phone so I would probably save $25 per month. Its awfully tempting!!
123. Addison @ Cashville Skyline July 14, 2014 at 8:12 PM

     I would save ~$62 per month if I made the switch. Remind me why I’m not doing this again?
124. katie m July 14, 2014 at 8:28 PM

     Over 2 phones, we’d save about $50/mo. Service gets spotty around here, so it would only work if we could be on the Verizon network all the time!
125. Donetta July 14, 2014 at 8:52 PM

     I would save $90/month on the Republic plan for 2 phones (mine + husband) currently on AT&T with IPhones. Would love to win this to make the switch!!
126. Elizabeth H July 14, 2014 at 8:54 PM

     omgoshhhh i’d be saving……errr my DAD would be saving $240/month!!!! …family plan. hehe
127. Patti July 14, 2014 at 9:03 PM

     Very cool option! I believe I would save about the same – $100 a month. Which would be awesome to do, and something I am definitely looking in to. Thank you for the info, and for this site.
128. Kevin Vesga July 14, 2014 at 9:37 PM

     If I were to forgo data, I could save $40 per phone per month. With 4G data the savings would drop to $10 per phone per month. That said I’ve not heard good things about the Sprint network.

     Anyways as a tech geek, I was actually happy to see you got the Moto G and X phones. They are a good size for people who don’t like overly huge phones and they don’t have the laggy TouchWiz software used by Samsung.
129. Kevin Vesga July 14, 2014 at 9:40 PM

     Also afaik you can remove that search bar from the homescreen if you want. Just click on it and hold and there should be a menu option to remove it.
130. Wade July 14, 2014 at 11:08 PM

     If I go 3G with Republic I save $100, that’s with 4 phone lines.
131. Sher@KNSFinancial July 14, 2014 at 11:11 PM

     We’d save about $100/month. We are currently shopping around and this looks pretty enticing!
132. Abby S July 14, 2014 at 11:18 PM

     I’d save $60/month — i’ve been thinking about it . . .
133. Jaresco Rogelio July 14, 2014 at 11:42 PM

     I’ve been on the $10/month plan with Republic for several months now, and am extremely happy. The only negative I have experienced is that MMS can be clunky at times, especially with group messages, but this is a relatively minor nuisance compared to the savings I am reaping.

     Another important note: You can change your phone plan up to twice per month. When I travel, I upgrade to the 4G/$40 month plan, and then switch back to the $10 month once I’m back home. You can make the switch right from your phone.
134. Alycia July 15, 2014 at 12:29 AM

     I wouldn’t save anything by switching as my parents pay for my cell phone still! (Very spoiled haha) but my boyfriend would save at least $25/month with the most expensive plan! $300/year sounds great to me!
135. Vince Persaud July 15, 2014 at 1:04 AM

     With Verizon currently gouging me @ $160/mo.. I could save $120/mo and still have 4G service. Keep that lifestyle!
136. d July 15, 2014 at 1:53 AM

     I am already on the no contract phone bandwagon but could probably save another 10 bucks a month
137. Annette Margolis July 15, 2014 at 2:18 AM

     I would save $40 per month, after I sell my iPhone that still has a $500 balance under T-mobile. Pretty sure I could get my bf to take over the payments since it’s an iPhone 5s and he’s running a 4 right now!
     1. J. Money July 15, 2014 at 4:03 PM

        Oh yeah! You can sell your iPhones too – forgot about that :) Mine is currently jacked up from dropping it too much, haha, but we can prob make some money off my wife’s. Thx for the reminder!
138. Tim July 15, 2014 at 2:43 AM

     Well, I would be fine with the $25 3G plan, but Katy would likely have to have the $40 4G plan as she uses her phone (and the data connection) far more than me. Currently, the Verizon pill is a staggering $162.02 (it is $157.22 some months..) so I would save about $95!

     It is pretty crazy to think about 0.o.
139. Raina July 15, 2014 at 5:15 AM

     About 75-85 a month
140. James / Free Spirit Finance July 15, 2014 at 7:15 AM

     I keep eyeballing Cricket and Virgin. (both work with an iPhone, I’m not selling out!) Maybe at the end of my contract I’ll finally give it a shot.
141. Leigh July 15, 2014 at 9:28 AM

     Holy guacamole! We would save $123 for our 2 phones!! Amazing! Thanks for the detailed review. Very helpful!!!
142. stacey July 15, 2014 at 9:57 AM

     we currently pay $160 for three phones… so we’d save a lot!
143. Kacie July 15, 2014 at 10:26 AM

     J$, you are just such a funny writer :)

     I’ve been intrigued by Republic Wireless ever since reading about it on the interwebs. Our current AT&T family plan is $115/month with taxes. I think we could do 2 $25/month plans, or maybe even a $10 and a $25. So we’d spend $35-50 and save $65-80/month.

     Right now, we have crazy expensive internet because the hubs works from home and needs a reliable, fast connection. Our wifi is pretty good.

     We did a one-year experiment with Magic Jack (wi-fi for a “landline” number) and it was terrible. So I like how Republic will at least have a cell tower as a backup.

     We do not have a landline and we got rid of Magic Jack.

     My husband does need a reliable phone connection and it has worked well with his cell phone. I do wonder if Republic could work for him. I am pretty sure it would work for my own uses.
     1. J. Money July 15, 2014 at 4:05 PM

        Interesting! Was just reading all the reviews for Magic Jack as we’re working on cutting down our home line costs too… they have the worst ratings than ANYONE! Ouch… I’m thinking of giving Ooma a shot :) They’re #1 best seller on Amazon and though it costs $130ish for the unit, you only pay taxes of like $3/mo going forward… beats $30 what we’re paying now! And we’re not ready to give it up yet…
        1. Dan July 15, 2014 at 10:10 PM

           I run my own VIOP server and pay $0 a month. Up front costs, $30. I’ve been running it for over 2 years. Lovin’ it!
        2. Mom @ Three is Plenty July 16, 2014 at 2:58 PM

           We use Callcentric and an Obi202 box for our home line: $1.50/mth for E911 service (not required, but makes Dad feel good), we have the Free DID and pay per outgoing call – which ends up being about $1/mth.
144. Jenna July 15, 2014 at 11:02 AM

     I will save $25/month
145. Colleen July 15, 2014 at 11:05 AM

     We pay 125 per month with Tmobile. We would spend 25 per month x 2 (since no family plan) = $75 savings! That’s huge!
146. JJ July 15, 2014 at 11:17 AM

     Thanks for this article, J! It looks like I would save about $80 from switching…wow!!!
147. Kristin @ Payment Free Life July 15, 2014 at 11:21 AM

     We would save about $90 a month, which would be pretty awesome. We already have android phones so moving all the content would be easy. Would be tough to give up my S3 though.
148. Anne @ Money Propeller July 15, 2014 at 11:26 AM

     I am so jealous! The cell prices in Canada are WAAAAY higher. In fact, I’m in the process of getting a new phone for my spouse and it’s making us want to cry! Who on earth can spend $190 on phones per month, because that’s what they’re quoting us!
     1. J. Money July 15, 2014 at 4:05 PM

        Yuck!
149. Tamara July 15, 2014 at 11:58 AM

     I have a Moto X from RW and I love it. Of course, we are so cheap that this is my first smartphone. We would love a Moto G for our daughter. We use the $10 plan, and it is awesome!
150. Lori Bowman July 15, 2014 at 12:06 PM

     I would save about $115.00 a month – Already told the kids, Verizon is done…December 23rd 2014 can’t come fast enough!
151. Francisco Rodriguez Jr July 15, 2014 at 12:36 PM

     I would save about $95 a month if I switch and I have been thinking about doing so for a while but have been too afraid to. So If you pick me to win Itd give me all the ammo I need to make the switch plus Id love you long time!
152. Erin July 15, 2014 at 12:59 PM

     I would save approximately $75 a month on two phones by switching to RW’s $25 a month plan.
153. Even Steven July 15, 2014 at 1:03 PM

     We switched and switched the whole family, me, wife, mom, in-laws, kid brothers, and got rid of a phone my Dad used an average of 3 minutes a month. Savings was somewhere in the $200 range. I heart Republic Wireless we are a walking, talking billboard advertisement for them. Welcome to the RW Club.
     1. J. Money July 15, 2014 at 4:06 PM

        3 mins a month – hah! I’m gonna be working on the rest of my family here shortly too – nice work :)
154. Naomi @ Rising Net Worth July 15, 2014 at 1:06 PM

     If probably save about $65 per month. My phone carrier is wrong me out to dry with my smartphone data plan. I can’t wait until September (my 2 year contract ends) so that I can make the switch to RW
155. Kalen @ MoneyMiniBlog July 15, 2014 at 1:22 PM

     The $5 plan sounds good me. Thanks for mentioning this! It would be good for me to not be able to access Facebook from my phone anyways. lol.
156. Donna Freedman July 15, 2014 at 2:24 PM

     I work at home and have a burn phone ($2 a day if I use it, $0 if I don’t) because I’m not a tech-y kind of person. But I’m still entering the contest because (a) at some point I better learn to use a smartphone and (b) free stuff!
     If I were lucky enough to win, I’d probably get the cheapest plan because it would more than suit my simple needs. And you, my friend, would get bonus points for having lured another technophobe into the 21st century. (“Come to the Dark Side. We have texting!”)
157. Elle July 15, 2014 at 3:02 PM

     Currently thinking about switching to RW. I’d save about $15 a month. Great post!
158. Sara July 15, 2014 at 3:20 PM

     I would save about $85 per month, but would be going from a dumb phone to a smart phone. And I would still have my iphone (paid for by the employer). I’ve been considering switching for a couple of months and just need to take care of it.
159. Matt July 15, 2014 at 3:35 PM

     I was spending $79.99 a month on Verizon. I searched and searched for a Wifi flip phone because I did not want to pay 29.99 just for DATA!! Verizon offered me a $10 a month blackberry social network nazi plan that only allowed data use thru certain apps. Not too mention the overages I had because of a “data leak.” Needless to say, I found Republic Wireless and they have solved my problem, except its better. They offer you the power of a smart phone and you don’t have to pay for the data. So, I save $70 bucks a month. Technically, to be equal I would have to compare the $25 vs the $79.99; However, Verizon doesnt offer a data package less than 29.99. That’s the beauty of Republic Wireless. I’ve had the service for 2 months, trust me it works great. Get rid of your contracts! #LongLiveTheRepublic.
     1. J. Money July 15, 2014 at 4:07 PM

        #LongLiveTheRepublic :)
160. Tonya@Budget and the Beach July 15, 2014 at 5:32 PM

     Seems that everyone has made the switch lately! I’d save $42 because I got on a new plan with AT&T for $65/month for 1 gig of data, which I don’t use anyway.
161. E.J. July 15, 2014 at 6:25 PM

     I would save about $25 per month with their plans!
162. Seth July 15, 2014 at 8:27 PM

     About $100 a month as well!
163. Janah M. July 15, 2014 at 8:36 PM

     I would save 30/mo and that would be awesome!
164. Sue J July 15, 2014 at 8:41 PM

     Crazy–have just been looking into this! We’d save $80 a month on 2 phones.
165. Bonnie July 15, 2014 at 9:02 PM

     I switched last November. I had a prepaid phone and a piece of crap at that. I got to upgrade to the Moto X, my first smartphone. With the $25/month plan, I pay about the same as before, but with a much better phone and much better service. I Love RW! Trying to convince my husband and mother to switch too.
166. Sue July 15, 2014 at 9:12 PM

     I would save about $45 a month but would be gaining a boat load (going from dumb phone with limited call/text to smart phone with unlimited data!
167. Chris Pedersen July 15, 2014 at 9:13 PM

     I would save $50 a month, and I wouldn’t be locked in. If I upgrade to a new smartphone with Verizon, I will have to lock myself in for another 2 years, and it is just crazy expensive.
168. The Wallet Doctor July 16, 2014 at 12:01 AM

     Wow you sure saved a lot by switching! Have you checked out some of the other options for cheap phone plans? I would be curious how they compare!
169. Davey Pockets July 16, 2014 at 12:11 AM

     Republic is the best! I’m on the $10 plan and love it!
170. Mrs. Larson July 16, 2014 at 12:24 AM

     We’d save about $104/month on our two cell phones!!
171. Kate @ Money Propeller July 16, 2014 at 12:59 AM

     I just ended my cell phone contract last year and it really saves me a lot! I only use my cell phone for checking emails when I’m not at home and for texting.
172. Jason July 16, 2014 at 9:39 AM

     My most current verizon bill is $273! I have 4 phones, but my job has agreed to take one. that still leaves me around $230. My plan would be to get my wife on the $25 plan, and my kids(2) the $10 plans. (Those 2 Moto G’s would sure help). Overall, I would be saving a huge $228!!! give or take depending on the taxes on RW. After my company takes over my line, I would still save $185! What have I been thinking all this time?

     Jason
     1. Jason July 16, 2014 at 9:51 AM

        Oh, 1 line is under contract, which I’ll gladly break. The plan is grandfathered with unlimited, so there’s really no way to come close by staying with Verizon. They always tell me they can save me money (still over $200), but then we’re sharing some small amount of data.
        1. J. Money July 18, 2014 at 6:23 AM

           Ouch! Def. a good move to switch!
173. Chris Green July 16, 2014 at 10:32 AM

     We would be saving $77 if we stayed with the $25 plan, but we are about 90% of the time near a good wifi signal. If we did the $10 plan, we would have over $100/month savings! I’m just about convinced. My contract is up, wife’s is up in September. I think we will be exploring the switch very soon. Thanks for the article!
174. Jennifer Borka July 16, 2014 at 11:25 AM

     I would save the same as you! About $100 a month for two people!
175. Kelley July 16, 2014 at 12:15 PM

     Since I am the primary holder of a family plan I’d save about $75/month!
176. Grayson @ Debt Roundup July 16, 2014 at 3:46 PM

     Nice review J. Money! They are actually from my area and I think they are great. I don’t have good Sprint coverage where my house is, so I didn’t consider them. It is also not good near my office. Either way, I have the Moto G and it does come in white now. It also has 4G LTE capability, which is great. The old Moto G didn’t have such capability. I recommend it if people need a cheap phone with no contract, but can’t get good Sprint coverage.
177. Nelson July 16, 2014 at 5:57 PM

     $5/month savings vs page plus
178. Sam July 16, 2014 at 7:05 PM

     I’d save about $100, I think. I just switched to Verizon and I’m paying about $200/month! EEk!
179. Scott July 16, 2014 at 8:16 PM

     I would save $35 per month but I would also gain access to unlimited data, which I don’t currently have in my plan. Thanks for the tip!
180. Carol in Mpls July 16, 2014 at 9:16 PM

     Great article J$!!! I’m in the prepaid club, and it’s worked fine so far, but I would love me a shiny new smartphone at such a great price. The $10/month plan would make it about an even trade cost-wise, but having the smartphone bells & whistles plus the data would really make it a terrific upgrade. Send that MotoX right on up to Minneapolis!!!
     1. J. Money July 18, 2014 at 6:25 AM

        You’re a better gal than me – prepaid scares me :)
        1. Carol in Mpls July 19, 2014 at 8:06 PM

           Well, for a variety of reasons I still have the old landline, but, it’s combined with my internet company (“think global, shop local”) who has stellar service for a really decent price. Like some of the others here, I need the smartphone for more mundane things, oh, like maps, as my ADD gene gets me lost when I’m in the suburbs. Actually, the prepaid t-mobile has only been $100 per year, and pretty decent coverage for my use. But still, wrap up that MotoX and send it on up here, ’cause I’m a waiting!!!
181. Kayla Blades July 16, 2014 at 11:33 PM

     I would save about $80 a month. I would love to make the switch! Contract is up in December!
182. Brandon B July 16, 2014 at 11:35 PM

     I think my family could save close to 100 dollars too. Awesome, man!
183. Sundeep July 17, 2014 at 12:32 AM

     Had a $75 plan with sprint when MMM reviewed Republic last year and was just waiting for the Moto X to come out to make the switch. I got it as soon as it was available and haven’t looked back since, saving $50 a month!!!
184. Wendy July 17, 2014 at 7:05 AM

     I wouldn’t save anything (have pay as you go plan so don’t use my phone much) but I would be able to move into the modern era. I’m still rockin a flip phone!
185. dean wagner July 17, 2014 at 8:59 AM

     I would save about 75.00. I’ve been looking at this for awhile and might have to do it.
186. Christa July 17, 2014 at 2:03 PM

     After doing a great deal of research on options to get phones for my boys, I recently got my two boys Moto G phones from RW. They now have the smartphones they wanted, and I don’t have to pay for data! Win-win for parents!! They are on the $10/month plan with unlimited talk and text but have “data” features wherever there is Wifi (which is almost everywhere!) The service and the phones are working perfectly. My contract is up soon with Sprint and I am seriously thinking about moving my husband and myself over to RW too. Our savings with the $25/month plan will be over $100 and the savings would probably be closer to $200 had I put my boys on our family plan too! Thank you RW for the great option for my family!
187. Erik July 17, 2014 at 2:30 PM

     Comparing these plans to AT&Ts new mobile share plans. A comparable 10gb(sufficient for most but not unlimited) is $115. A savings of $75.
     If you count the installment of a phone, add another ~$30 savings.
188. phil July 17, 2014 at 2:38 PM

     I would save 55 bucks a month!
189. Chris M. July 17, 2014 at 2:39 PM

     I switched from Verizon to Republic Wireless about a month ago and I couldn’t be happier. I’m using the $10/month plan and I’m saving about $50 per month. I love my Moto X and Republic Wireless!
190. Michelle July 17, 2014 at 2:55 PM

     I would use the $25 and my husband the $40 which would save us around $135 a month since we always end up passing $200 with our data overages.
191. Sarah S July 17, 2014 at 5:41 PM

     I’d only save about $20 a month, but still sounds good to me!
192. Rachel July 17, 2014 at 5:47 PM

     I would save about $100. My husband and I are both currently on our parents plans and just pay them monthly. This would be a great way for us to get on our own plan!
193. sdebarr July 17, 2014 at 6:16 PM

     $5/month, but don’t have unlimited everything
194. don July 17, 2014 at 9:55 PM

     i estimated that i would save about $200 per yr
195. Anna July 17, 2014 at 11:52 PM

     I’m on Republic’s $10/month plan, and couldn’t be happier. Paying only slightly less than I did with Verizon, but with Verizon I was on a pay as you go prepaid plan, had a dumb phone, and paid $15 a month PLUS 25¢ a minute for calling. That added up pretty quick, so I wasn’t inclined to use my phone for its purpose–calling. Now I can call and text as much I want, because Republic is unlimited, plus I have a smartphone–Verizon wouldn’t set me up with a basic smartphone for less than $45/month.
     1. J. Money July 18, 2014 at 6:27 AM

        Work it! The feeling along of being able to do whatever you want, anytime, with it is savings enough. Watching minutes is so stressful :(
196. Julia July 18, 2014 at 9:22 AM

     Switched 2 months ago and LOVE it!! Saving ~60/month and could not be happier. Now my husband wants in on the deal so we are looking at getting a second Moto G in the next few months. Such a great option for cell phones!
197. Erica July 18, 2014 at 10:28 AM

     We made the switch in March and we’re saving at least $100 each month. I work from home, but do a lot of traveling for work in the Summer and Fall. I use Republic Wireless’ 3G data plan during the Summer and Fall, but their $5 wireless plan in the Winter and Spring. So we’re saving $120 during each of the colder months. I’m in love!
198. Jennifer R July 18, 2014 at 1:00 PM

     I would save about $100 a month by switching two phones over to them. That’s some pretty awesome savings right there! And I’m currently out of contract on my phone, so no need to wait for me ;)
199. Dave C July 18, 2014 at 4:37 PM

     2 phones switched from Verizon= about $100.
200. Tammy July 19, 2014 at 8:33 AM

     I would save $75/mo.
201. Kelly July 19, 2014 at 8:51 AM

     We’d save about $60 a month!
202. Kathleen P July 19, 2014 at 8:53 AM

     Well, I haven’t saved anything over my old phone/plan–except perhaps my sanity and exposure to ridicule from younger colleagues. I got the Republic Defy XT about 18 months ago to replace my trailer-park flip phone, a decades old Virgin Mobile $20 top-up-every-three-months model, which now belongs to my husband. Needless to say, we are not phone people…We still have a land line…BUT I love Republic Wireless! It’s simple, cheap, and lets me text without pushing keys multiple times to get the correct letter/symbol. It was wonderful to come into the 21st century at under $25 per month! I looked at the Moto G and X, but so far have been too cheap to pull the trigger. I’m sure they’ll still be available in a decade or so!
     1. J. Money July 21, 2014 at 11:56 AM

        The younger generation doesn’t appreciate money these days ;)

        (and wow I feel old now for saying that!)
203. Kyle July 19, 2014 at 9:58 AM

     Would be saving $75/mo if I made the switch from our Sprint plan.
204. Heather July 19, 2014 at 10:59 AM

     Since we’re getting our daughter her first phone before school starts in September, I’d save about $65. (Luckily, my husband’s work pays for his phone.) Thanks for the giveaway!
205. Patrick July 19, 2014 at 11:48 AM

     I’d save about $40/mo + my sanity, plus my iPhone’s wifi stops working occasionally. After reformatting my phone, the “genius” at the apple store said “it happens, I would need $200 to fix it”. 80% of my phone use is streaming Pandora. So frustrated with Apple!
     1. J. Money July 21, 2014 at 11:55 AM

        Oh jeez, haha… yeah, the last 2 iPhones I’ve had eventually broke… first one just went black and never turned back on again (wtf?) and the one i just gave up froze anytime you tried to take a picture or use the camera in an app/etc. Making it PRETTY HARD to deposit your checks via your phone when you have USAA :) but not my problem anymore!
206. Alex Medvick July 19, 2014 at 11:53 AM

     I’d probably be saving about $70! Not too shabby!
207. David C July 19, 2014 at 11:53 AM

     I’d save about $30 a month with Republic Wireless.
208. tim July 19, 2014 at 11:54 AM

     My employer gets me a 20% discount with Verizon. So 2 lines with 3 GB of data is $144. Switching to Republic Wireless would save me $94 a month!
209. David Pierson July 19, 2014 at 11:55 AM

     I would save 100 dollars a month.
210. Regina July 19, 2014 at 12:03 PM

     I’d save about $40/mo compared to my old unlimited Sprint plan.
211. Rich July 19, 2014 at 12:27 PM

     I would save another $120 per month. Since there is no 4G Sprint service yet where I live, I would use the $25 plan for me and the $10 plan for my wife.
212. Chris C July 19, 2014 at 12:49 PM

     I would save around $80 a month switching to republic wireless!
213. Andrew Jones July 19, 2014 at 12:54 PM

     I’d be saving about $70 per month with Republic!
214. Kevin Hebert July 19, 2014 at 1:24 PM

     I’m currently rockin the $10 plan and am saving about $45/ mo. It works perfectly. I’m hoping for a phone for the other half to try = another $45 of savings.
215. Brad G July 19, 2014 at 1:32 PM

     I’ve been doing research on these phones and plans, and with what I’m paying through AT&T I would save $75 a month by moving off AT&T. I have heard such good things about Republic and I can’t wait to jump ship!
216. Jared T. July 19, 2014 at 1:42 PM

     If I can convince the wife, we’d save about $130/mo over our current Verizon plan. I may have to wait to pry the iphone from her dying hands..
     1. J. Money July 21, 2014 at 11:53 AM

        It’s not an easy feat – I can promise you that ;)
217. Kelli July 19, 2014 at 2:15 PM

     I would save $40 a month, have unlimited talk which I don’t have now, plus a newer, nicer, fancier phone!
218. Daniel July 19, 2014 at 2:21 PM

     Would save about $80 a month. My girlfriend and I have been looking into Republic Wireless for a bit now. Thanks for the in depth review.
219. Benjamin Colby July 19, 2014 at 2:47 PM

     I switched from a pretty bare bones prepaid plan and am still saving $10/month
220. don kozuch July 19, 2014 at 3:25 PM

     I would save $50 a month
221. Trevor July 19, 2014 at 3:26 PM

     I joined RW about the months ago and I’m saving over $100/mo. Awesome! Just awesome. Service is great!
222. Al the Man July 19, 2014 at 4:58 PM

     We’ve used Republic for a long time. I got it when it first came out with the LG Optimus S, and my wife started when the Defy came out. Now I have the X, and my wife the G, and when she switched to the G, her bill cut to less than half, from $19 to $9. (We get the 10% discount for starting with the Defy phone.) Her Boost Mobile plan had been $40. We had both been on AT&T flip-phones for about $80 a month. So, we’re saving a combined $50 monthly having drastically upgraded to smartphones. I still have that Optimus, and I use it for a “second landline” making and taking calls for free with Google Voice and another free app, only at home, of course, since the phone has no cell service. I gave my old Defy to my friend, who cut her monthly bill from $35 to $19 with Republic. They still sell the Defy on a $19 monthly unlimited plan.
     1. J. Money July 21, 2014 at 11:52 AM

        interesting that you get 10% still! nice perk for being “in” with the crew early on I guess :)
223. Jenny July 19, 2014 at 5:53 PM

     Already on Republic but a new phone for my mom would probably be good since she’d be able save 15 dollars a month and actually have texting. Plus right now her service is so spotty compared to mine ><
224. Tony July 19, 2014 at 7:02 PM

     I wouldn’t save any money because I pay $25 per phone each month for what I have. However, for the same price I would get unlimited calling instead of a super slim 300 minutes per month with my current plan. Yeah, that’s 300 total. It’s been tough to talk to my family much since I enlisted last year. This would be awesome!
225. Charlie July 19, 2014 at 7:34 PM

     Saving $140 a month on 2 phones!
226. kim munheir July 19, 2014 at 8:32 PM

     I would save $25/month. Thank you!
227. Pismo July 19, 2014 at 9:29 PM

     I wouldn’t save any more because I’m already with RW, but I’d love to get rid of the sub-par Defy XT and get my hands on a Moto G!
228. Ethan July 19, 2014 at 11:45 PM

     We would save $100 a month
229. Valerie July 20, 2014 at 1:17 AM

     I’m currently with sprint on a family plan and hating life. After the math all told I would be saving $1812.96. Were planning to buy a home in the next three years and this savings would be a huge help. *fingers and toes crossed*
     1. J. Money July 21, 2014 at 11:51 AM

        daaaaaaamn…. that’s a hefty amount towards that down payment! and a great thing to consider too: “What do I want more? an expensive cell plan or a house?”
230. Mike July 20, 2014 at 7:27 AM

     I would stop having to free load on my parents cell phone plan. So I would save the guilt.
     1. J. Money July 21, 2014 at 11:50 AM

        And you can’t put a price on freedom, baby!
231. Tan Nguyen July 20, 2014 at 8:33 AM

     I would save $20/month. REPUBLIC WIRELESS FOR LIFE !!!
232. Mason July 20, 2014 at 5:39 PM

     I would save about $100 dollars a month with Republic.
233. David Hunter July 20, 2014 at 5:40 PM

     I’d save between $47-$62 a month depending if I got the $25 plan or $40 plan!

     Come on baby, daddy needs a new phone! Ha
234. fernwise July 20, 2014 at 8:31 PM

     I’d only save about $10 a month … but I have a dumb phone and would gain all these features!
235. Jon July 20, 2014 at 9:34 PM

     Dude! We could save $125 per month…! Crazy!!
236. Serena July 20, 2014 at 9:36 PM

     DUDE! Even with the most expensive $40 plan for me and my BF who share a Verizon plan, we’d save $70 a month! That would be absolutely amazing … not to mention great for us to get off our dependence on overly-expensive Apple products!
237. Mike July 20, 2014 at 10:49 PM

     I’d save about $30 a month. I still clinging to my non-smartphone because I’m too frugal to pay for the hefty data plan.
238. Mark in Bethel Park July 20, 2014 at 10:57 PM

     I’m sold on Republic Wireless and I’m trying to convince my wife that the $31 per month VOIP service could be replaced with the $10 per month Republic Wireless plan. It would be like getting a cell phone for free while saving $20 on the home phone.
     1. J. Money July 21, 2014 at 11:49 AM

        That’s a good idea! I’m about to actually test out Ooma Telo too – which would only be $3’ish a month ;) Will be doing a review here once I’m done…
239. J. Money July 21, 2014 at 12:08 PM

     **** GIVEAWAY OVER ****

     Congrats to our two winners, who will each get their very own (FREE) Moto G phone!

     WINNER #1: Chris C (#254)
     WINNER #2: Lindsee (#37)

     Thanks for participating everyone :) And don’t let not winning hold you back from saving $HIT TONS of money over the years! Give R.W. a shot and see what happens… worst case you switch back later?
240. superbee July 21, 2014 at 12:47 PM

     I would love to switch to Republic Wireless. Mr Money Mustache and you think it’s great, and I got to the very very last stage of signing up before I got spooked and defected to a traditional company. I think it’s their loss – I have excellent credit, pay all my bills fully on time, and love to tell people about great services.

     But READ THE FINE PRINT in their legal clauses – they get to decide which of their dangerously vague clauses they use to drop you, and charge huge fees. Legally, they can get you if you:

     -Send out an email to friends asking them to support your charity marathon.
     -Send a survey asking when to meet.
     -Send an email to a list.
     -Forward a chain letter.
     -Send your husband a sexy selfie (even if both of you are of age).
     -Have too many conference calls in one day (!!!)
     -Anything that could cause any cranky Internet troll to complain

     These are copy/pasted from their own legal language… note how incredibly vague it is, especially since they are the sole determination of what does and doesn’t fit:

     “b. Improper and/or inappropriate uses include, but are not limited to:
     i. posting multiple messages similar in content to Usenet or other newsgroups, listservs, forums, e-mail mailing lists or other similar groups or lists;
     v. conducting or forwarding surveys, contests, pyramid schemes, charity requests or chain letters;
     viii. sending unsolicited calls, messaging, e-mailings (including, without limitation, commercial advertising and informational announcements) if such unsolicited activities could reasonably be expected to or do in fact provoke complaints;
     xii. use of any Services to disseminate or post material that is indecent, lewd, obscene, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, inflammatory, or otherwise objectionable;
     xiv. continuous or extensive chat line or conference call participation,
     xv. use of free conference calling or similar services that Republic Wireless in its sole discretion deems to participate in traffic stimulation practices or schemes that result in excessive charges;
     xvii. repetitive and/or continuous messaging or calling to the same destination or number if such activity could reasonably be expected to or in fact does provoke complaints;
     xviii. long duration calls (defined as calls to the same number in excess of four continuous or cumulative hours within a 24 hour period);”

     REPUBLIC WIRELESS RESERVES THE RIGHT TO IMMEDIATELY TERMINATE SERVICE AND, IN ADDITION TO ANY AND ALL OTHER APPLICABLE CHARGES UNDER THESE TERMS OF SERVICE, CHARGE A MINIMUM INAPPROPRIATE USE FEE OF $500 AND/OR CHARGE $0.05 PER MINUTE FOR ALL CALLS MADE DURING SUCH PERIODS OF PROHIBITED USE, WHICHEVER IS HIGHER, CHARGE $0.04 PER SMS OR MMS FOR ALL SMS’ OR MMS’ MADE DURING SUCH PERIODS OF PROHIBITED USE, AND CHARGE $0.30 PER MB OF DATA CONTENT FOR USAGE DURING SUCH PERIODS OF PROHIBITED USE, AS WELL AS ALL APPLICABLE AMOUNTS DUE PURSUANT TO THESE TERMS OF SERVICE AND THE SERVICE PLAN.

     You can compare Republic’s legalese with T-Mobile (who I went with instead, due to this issue), particularly section 18:

     http://www.t-mobile.com/Templates/Popup.aspx?PAsset=Ftr_Ftr_TermsAndConditions&print=true

     I got Republic’s legalese from their “Legal” website link. These are the two docs:

     https://community.republicwireless.com/mobile/mobile-access.jspa#jive-content?content=%2Fapi%2Fcore%2Fv3%2Fcontents%2F1338

     https://republicwireless.com/legal/terms-and-conditions

     P.S. Love the blog… and the hair.
241. Richard July 21, 2014 at 1:06 PM

     I will be saving between $7-$25 with Republic Wireless depending on my phone habits with plan switching per month.

     J, you mentioned the Ooma. I have Ooma Telo for over two years and had very little issues. The Ooma taxes and fees went up to about ~$3.80/month for me. I hear the Obi boxes are great alternatives too.

     To throw out some other ideas, I don’t have my own smartphone to test this yet until RW but for those with a tablet or smartphone, you should be able to use a service like GrooveIP with Ring.To to use it as a VOIP-only phone for free incoming from anywhere and outgoing calls to US/Canada.

     For something more versatile, a Scratch Wireless smartphone is also a hybrid phone like RW that uses wifi for free voice, text and data if you really count that. Unlimited SMS even without wifi. Best of all, no monthly fees ever unless you purchase a pass or two to connect to the Sprint network for voice and data if you need to. The only requirement is to purchase their phone and it’s locked to their service like RW phones.

     So the GrooveIP app or Scratch phone can be used as a backup or home phone that might be able to replace the Ooma if you’re frugal enough to avoid monthly bills. Even better as a home phone, you can use a device like Xlink or PhoneLynx. It’s a bluetooth gateway to connect the smartphone to your cordless phone(s). The cordless phones should be able to dial and receive calls without having to touch the smartphone after bluetooth has connected.

     I have not done any of this yet so I cannot say anything about the quality and reliability but it’s what I’ve been reading if I can trust the Internet. Please correct me if I got something wrong. So many options! Thanks J.
     1. J. Money July 24, 2014 at 2:38 PM

        Nice!!! I should be testing Ooma pretty shortly here – excited to try it out! :)
242. Sally July 23, 2014 at 11:25 PM

     I wouldn’t save anything but the service over tmobile would have to be better.
243. superbee November 8, 2014 at 12:19 PM

     As a follow-up, Republic Wireless updated their legal policy since I posted my last connect in July 2014 – but the objectionable parts are still there.

     They still threaten to terminate service and slap you with hefty fines if you send surveys, charity requests, “lewd” or “indecent” messages (!!!) (not illegal ones mind you which would cover any pedo/child porn activity, but lewd or indecent which would cover adult-to-adult sexting or pix), or stay on long conference calls.

     In contrast, T-Mobile had none of that kind of Puritan language.
244. c.p. December 6, 2014 at 9:36 PM

     Their phone selection leaves a lot to be desired, frankly I don’t care for Moto phones as they have been fairly sketchy. The two phones I see here aren’t any better than my Galaxy S3 and that’s two years old. And since from what I’ve read, you cannot get a better quality unlocked phone for their service, you’re stuck with the X or the Moto G ( which was a total piece of crap).
     All that said, they are worth watching to see how well they can swap between WiFi and cell towers. It also doesn’t help me that Sprint basically sucks in my area.
245. JTF December 10, 2014 at 12:35 PM

     Nice savings! I recently switch plan to RW and wrote about it here: http://journeytototalfreedom.blogspot.com/2014/12/saving-money-on-phone-bill.html.

     It is possible to get cheaper than RW if you don’t need an unlimited plan. Freedompop gives you free (yes, free) service if you live in their area of coverage (too bad I don’t), while puretalk usa charges $5 (all fees and taxes included) for 80-min per month. I now pay only $17.92 for two lines in my household.
     1. J. Money December 11, 2014 at 8:06 PM

        That’s pretty good! Way to hack it!
246. Robert Askew December 15, 2014 at 7:44 PM

     I have been with RW for about 2 yrs now…I love it.
     Got my wife switched over, got my My married daughter and son in law switched over, got my mother and father in law switched over.
     There is NO better plan out there. I have no problem with the service. Any time I’ve had an issue I email them and get a quick response.
     I have never had a roaming charge, very few dropped calls and they NEVER email you and threaten to kick you off if you use too much data or text or talk…that is just bologna.
     It is very simple folks, you can be smart or you can pay a lot of money.
     I checked out TING mobile…you gotta be kidding me. Comparatively…go ahead and check them..do the comparison for unlimited data, talk and text. That’s a joke.
247. Randy December 16, 2014 at 7:49 AM

     I’ve been wanting to switch my family over to RW for months, but my wife was nervous about it. She didn’t like the up-front layout of $600 for four phones. I kept providing her with the amount we would save, but the front-loaded sticker shock was just too much for her.

     Then RW introduced the Moto E. For some reason, that $400 price changed her mind.

     I have myself and her on $25/mo plans and my two daughters on $10/mo. plans. We were paying $160/mo. with Verizon. Now, we’ll be playing half that. We’ve only had our phones for just over a week and the experience has been positive. My wife and daughter hadn’t had Smartphones, so they’re ecstatic.

     The call quality is not as good at home on our WiFi as Verizon was, but the costs savings make it worth the slight dip in quality. I’m making a trip to a more rural area to visit relatives and I’m eager to see how it performs then.

     All-in-all, I’m digging the savings.
248. Gusto December 31, 2014 at 3:15 PM

     Republic Wireless now has Moto E phones that are only $100 each and pretty good phones but not as good as the Moto G or X.
249. kb February 9, 2015 at 7:45 PM

     Just read about 40 reviews on Republic wireless and holy cow….. I don’t think i’ve ever seen such a unanimous opinion. It is a POS carrier. From what I am reading there is no customer service and instead they encourage you to just go onto online forums and hope your problems can be solved there. The wifi driving force of this service seems to be spotty at best. The reviews reminded me a LOT of when I had Virgin mobile. It was a disaster and nothing consistently worked with Virgin. I have to kind of lean more toward the opinion of all the reviewers I have read so far. $10-40 for a plan sounds too good to be true, and you know what they say about that. I think I’ll just switch from my nauseating $120 ATT plan to T-Mobile and their $60 plan. Not as much savings but still… $60 is still good. With T-Mobile I at least KNOW what I am getting and honestly, over the last year or 2 the people I know who have T-mobile are loving it. So maybe they changed. T-mobile used to be a joke. I’ll take my chances with the more reputable name in T-Mobile over Republic. The reviewers of Republic said you’d be better off going with someone like Cricket Wireless instead. I’d love to hear a follow up a month later on how you’re liking Republic.
     1. kb February 9, 2015 at 7:49 PM

        that was supposed to read a “few months later”*
        1. J. Money February 11, 2015 at 12:01 PM

           $60 savings/mo is still good, agreed :)

           It’s been 6 months now with Republic Wireless, and honestly outside of a few weird connections I’m just as pleased with them as I was on day #1. I wish I could still have an iPhone as I prefer it over Android phones (or at least Motorola phones) but not enough to give up the savings and go back.

           My wife on the other hand isn’t as impressed with Republic Wireless so she’s thinking of testing out Ting to see if they’re any better (and apparently you can have iPhones with them?). I’ll be sure to share her findings and compare ’em with RW here on the blog if she ends up going through with it :) In the meantime I just keep pocketing my dollars!
250. Patty April 4, 2015 at 10:11 AM

     I jumped on the RW bandwagon two weeks ago. I was going to take advantage of the 30 day money back guaranteed, but I found myself still using my Verizon Moto X and not truly testing the RW… so I cancelled the old phone altogether. I am not thrilled so far with it, but I am willing to put up with a lot of crap to save $100 a month.
     Here are the drawbacks for me:
     1- WiFi at work is not always good (and my boss is not thrilled about us using cell phones at work anyway). When this happens, calls go straight to voicemail, I can’t listen to Iheart radio, Clark Howard podcasts, etc. which is super important to me on my eternal quest to save money.
     2- I LOVE using Waze (the traffic app) I am very active on it, and addicted to it (I confess). I can’t use Waze with the weak signal I get under cell. This alone drives me nuts!
     3- I can’t Google stuff, like bank locations or whatever little piddly thing I need.
     4- I am getting tons of spam calls. (which are going to voice mail anyway)
     5- I am not on a Sprint loving coverage zone, so the cell signal is sketchy at all times.

     So, because I am NOT going back to Verizon, this is my counter attack: I bought (and not received yet) a Karma Go mobile hot spot. The price per data gig is $14, and the data never expires! Also you are encouraged to share the hot spot via Facebook, and every time someone hooks up, you get 500Mb free. So I see a win-win at least in my head. Karma is also in the Sprint network, but they swear the coverage is great. I ordered on the pre-order period, so I paid $99 for a $150 hotspot.
     Wish me luck, as I am totally invested in the RW mission. It also makes a good team with my Prius…
     1. Patty April 4, 2015 at 2:36 PM

        I forgot to mention that if the Karma works good for me, I’ll try the $5 plan and save even more!
        1. J. Money April 6, 2015 at 1:38 PM

           All good knowledge! My wife gets some spam calls here and there too which bug her, but fortunately I have not received one :) And wifi works great where we are so no worries there (or else it would be a completely different ball game).

           Good luck w/ the Karma! I haven’t heard about them before but I’m all about leaving Verizon for bigger and better! I know some people like Ting too if you haven’t looked into them too much… Let us know how it goes :)
251. AMK April 20, 2015 at 2:23 PM

     I am so happy to have discovered your blog! You truly keep everything real and funny too! Thank you for this information as I’m about to switch to Republic.
     1. J. Money April 20, 2015 at 10:02 PM

        So glad to hear it! :)
252. Beka June 5, 2015 at 2:55 AM

     I think I would be the rare case where this would cost more money for me and cause more hassles. I have a brand new iPhone 5c (bought it for a penny) with us cellular and my bill is 20 a month for unlimited everything except data but I have quite a bit. But in my case Verizon and sprint and even att rarely gets service where I live so these phones would have to be used on wifi which isn’t everywhere you go when you live in the country.

     If I lived in a city where either one of their providers worked I would definitely try it out but in my case now it wouldn’t work well for me.
253. Tim July 1, 2015 at 10:45 PM

     I was considering switching but I’m concerned about the availability of coverage.
     1. J. Money July 2, 2015 at 1:46 PM

        yeah, def. gotta make sure it gets good reception where you are for sure. 80% of the time I’m connected to my home wifi so it doesn’t matter in those cases, but once you walk out the door it sure does :)
254. Jeff @ Money Talks Coaching July 20, 2015 at 12:08 PM

     Totally agree on wanting an iPhone – I LOVE Apple products – but I was pretty surprised how solid Republic is overall. I had a few drops and my wife said it wasn’t as clear as my iPhone on the other end, but for the price it’s tough to beat. Unfortunately Verizon is head and shoulders above all other carriers for coverage in my area so it’s going to be tough to switch but RW definitely has me thinking about it!
     1. J. Money July 20, 2015 at 12:25 PM

        If only RW would work on iPhones! Best of both worlds :)
255. Carla March 5, 2016 at 5:19 PM

     Hello, I was excited to look at the opportunities that Republic Wireless could offer me but when I went to check their website today, I noticed that they no longer offer the deals you show. They now have a Republic Refun Base Plan. Have you looked into this new plan? It is very unfortunate that they discontinued the options that you mention on your blog.
     1. Rene March 9, 2016 at 11:57 AM

        Hi Carla,

        I am on the $10 plan but from what I have seen the refund plans are very popular. I really love RW.

        Rene
        1. J. Money March 16, 2016 at 5:29 PM

           Yup! Was just gonna say what Rene did :)

           We’re still on the old plan, but will be moving over ourselves to the newer one since every time I look at the data it shows we would have saved a few dollars…. I think we’ll all be forced to convert over anyways, which really only sucks for those who really suck up the bandwidth offline.
256. Angela August 17, 2016 at 2:26 PM

     I’d upgrade from my flip-phone AND save $35 per month!
257. Matt December 12, 2017 at 9:38 AM

     Most of these comments are pretty old, but it looks like you updated the post in August… would you still recommend this with all the other options out there these days? I’m currently using Cricket, which is the pay as you go ATT dealio… waaaaay cheaper than a regular plan @ $100/mo for 5 lines. Just curious if I could be saving more, and if you’d recommend something other than republic three years later?
     Thanks!
     1. J. Money December 12, 2017 at 11:43 AM

        Yup, I’m still rockin’ Republic going on a cple years now and very much loving it :) We pay $25 for each of our lines and the quality and phones just keep getting better over the years!

        I don’t know much about Cricket, but the other two players in the game to check out are Ting and then Project FI – Google’s mobile service. Everyone I know who isn’t w/ Republic is with one of those two guys, but really you can’t go wrong with any of them because they’re all better than the major players in the game! With much less rules too…
258. Tom May 25, 2018 at 1:59 PM

     In Switzerland, I pay 16$ for unlimited talk and text and 3GB of cellular data, which is enough for me with so much WIFI around. And best of it, I can use an iPhone because all providers have GSM. Because we’re the most expensive country in western Europe I’m astonished how expensive telecom in the US is (but health industry is it as well…). My whole family of four has individual contracts which are together cheaper (55$) than one usual contact with the market leader.
     1. J. Money May 29, 2018 at 1:03 PM

        Wow – no joke!